The F-series isn't the most popular vehicle in America because there are only two types of buyers. Roughly, the answer to "who is a truck person?" is "everyone."
Majority of people who own trucks do not use it as a truck... rather it's used like a glorified car or SUV. That clearly makes for two types of truck buyers, with two types of needs and wants.
An electric truck is not for professionals - it's for your office commuter who likes the idea of a truck. The Lightning fits that person perfectly, even if it's not a "good truck" by truck standards.
The problem was Ford billed it as a worksite truck for professionals.
Could you elaborate? It sounds like you're trying to suggest that towing an RV is the only use for a truck? But then you mentioned worksite, and the Lightning is very well suited for that (says my next-door neighbor, who operates a small construction company, and is quite happy to be electrified and not spending $1500/month fueling a gas-powered half ton).
The rest of the year, a car or SUV would be more than sufficient. The point isn't that these people should not have a truck, the point is they do not need a truck and therefore the factors that influence their purchase are different than professionals that use the truck and bed often.
It's the same with anything - take kitchen knives for example. A professional is going to be looking for something very different than an amateur home cook.
The F-150 Lightning was billed as a jobsite, professional's truck. However, it's much better suited for the other type of truck buyer in the US.
> says my next-door neighbor, who operates a small construction company
He's probably not driving 2+ hours to a worksite out in the middle of no where, hoping there's a charging station in the next-door field.
The Lightning only gets a claimed 230 miles range after all... 320 with the extended battery with an unloaded bed. Your average F-150 boasts 700+ miles range, for comparison.
Glad it works for him - but the Lightning really isn't suited for that type of work.
The very definition of truthy. Sounds good, even without a shred of evidence to back it up.
> A professional is going to be looking for something very different than an amateur home cook.
I guess. The home cook might be inclined to buy an absurdly priced knife. The pro and competent home cooks both will reach for a basic Victorinox knife for everyday use.
> He's probably not driving 2+ hours to a worksite out in the middle of no where,
Most work trucks are driven around town. There's a niche for people who travel hundreds of miles in a day, but it's not the most common use case at all. The Lightning works great for >90% of all the usual things trucks get used for.
If you buy something as useless as the f-150 lightning and try to pull your RV/boat/etc. somewhere thinking it can go any decent distance hauling stuff, you're gonna have a lot of regret.
People drive every day in oversized vehicles with dangerously poor visibility just because they might need to carry a larger item once in a while, even though their crew cab models have barely more cargo space than hatchback. Not to mention that large items can be ordered with delivery, and trucks/vans can be rented for occasional use.
Even for work purposes pickup trucks seem niche. The pickup form factor offers less carrying capacity than a same-length van, less flexibility in using the same space for carrying both people and cargo, and has worse options for secure storage.
What's weird is trying to market something to someone spending $60k+ on a vehicle by saying you won't really use it for its intended purposes (which it can't do well) anyway so shutup and buy it.
"Buy this lesser truck that's more expensive than its ICE version."
But, I want to spend MY hard earned money on a vehicle that can do actual truck things.
"NO, you do not need an actual truck so spend $90k on this EV truck that can't go very far while towing."
Wouldn't it be better to just buy a car if I don't actually need a truck?
"No, buy this overpriced EV truck."
Solid marketing strategy. The ONLY thing ev's have an advantage at right now is the idea that they're better for the environment. By almost every other measure they're a worse product. Until they fix the issues with range they're not competing with cheaper, better ICE vehicles.
That has not been my experience.
